Update 2 - Vneshtorgbank says has no interest in Kazakh Nauryz

/REUTERS, Moscow/Almaty, Olzhas Auyezov, February 16, 05, adds details/ - Vneshtorgbank (VTB), Russia's No.2 bank, denied on Wednesday it had shown interest in buying Kazakhstan's medium-sized Nauryz Bank, refuting an earlier statement by the Central Asian state's markets regulator. But VTB said it was still studying the possibility of acquiring an unspecified Kazakh bank, other than ailing Nauryz. Earlier on Wednesday Kazakh Financial Markets Agency Chairman Bulat Zhamishev said he had received a letter from VTB, in which the Russian bank "showed some interest in acquiring part of Nauryz Bank's capital". "The letter contains no hard-and-fast obligations. It just expresses willingness to discuss this possibility (buying Nauryz Bank)," Zhamishev told a news conference in Kazakhstan's financial capital Almaty. However, VTB Senior Vice President Vasily Titov told Reuters in Moscow that acquiring Nauryz Bank "was not among the interests of the Russian side". "We are continuing to study the possibility of acquiring a bank in Kazakhstan. But at the moment there is no talk of buying any particular bank," he said. Kazakhstan's Financial Markets Agency imposed direct management on Nauryz last November, saying the bank had reported distorted data for its financial activity and had not respected in full its obligations on payments and cash transfers. Zhamishev said he hoped the final decision on whether to liquidate the ailing bank or to sell it to a new owner would be taken within two months. He said his agency had suspended the sell-off of Nauryz Bank's branches across the Central Asian state after receiving the VTB letter. Zhamishev said an estimated $50 million investment was needed to breathe new life into Nauryz. He said no Kazakh banks had so far shown an interest in buying Nauryz. The markets regulator was also planning to lift a 50-percent limit on foreigners' share in the combined assets of Kazakhstan's whole banking system, he added. Official data show the combined assets of Kazakhstan's banking system at some $20 billion at the start of February. Zhamishev said foreign banks working in the oil-rich nation had already approached the 50-percent threshold. Even before the barrier is officially lifted, the agency would issue individual licences allowing the limit to be exceeded, he said. Foreign banks with strong positions in Kazakhstan include Citigroup , ABN AMRO and HSBC. ((Writing by Dmitry Solovyov, editing by Steven Silber; Reuters Messaging: dmitry.solovyev.reuters.com@reuters.net, almaty.newsroom@reuters.com; +7 3272 508500) [2005-02-16]